Murderpedia has thousands of hours of work behind it. To keep creating
new content, we kindly appreciate any donation you can give to help
the Murderpedia project stay alive. We have many
plans and enthusiasm
to keep expanding and making Murderpedia a better site, but we really
need your help for this. Thank you very much in advance.

"Do you want me to
tie you up, or do you want to die? "The voice belonged to Salvador
Tapia, a co-worker who had been fired from the warehouse six months
earlier."I said, `Tie me up.' I didn't want to die," Sanchez said.

Fired worker kills 6, dies in
shootout with Chicago Police

The Journal Gazette

August 28, 2003

A man who was fired
from his job at an auto parts company six months ago returned Wednesday
with a handgun and shot six former co-workers, killing them all,
authorities said. He then waged a gunbattle with police before a SWAT
team member fatally wounded him. Salvador Tapia, 36, who had been
arrested a dozen times on weapons, assault and other charges, died after
being transported to a hospital, police said. Four of his victims died
at the scene - slain among a maze of engine parts, crates and 55-gallon
drums.

Fired worker fatally shoots 6, then
is slain by cops

Philadelphia Daily News

August 28, 2003

A man who had been
fired from an auto-parts warehouse six months ago came back with a gun
yesterday and killed six employees in a rampage through a maze of engine
blocks and 55-gallon drums before being fatally shot by police. Salvador
Tapia died in a gun battle he waged with police inside and outside of
the building, hiding behind a container as he fired rounds from his
semiautomatic pistol, authorities said. "He got up, he had the gun, they
ordered him to drop the gun, he refused...

7 dead, including gunman, after
shooting at Chicago warehouse

August 28, 2003

CHICAGO (AP) — A man
fired from an auto parts warehouse six months ago came back with a gun
Wednesday and killed six people in a rampage through a maze of engine
blocks and 55-gallon drums before being shot to death by police. The
dead included two brothers who owned the business and one of their sons
along with three other co-workers. Only one of the employees inside the
building at the time of the shooting survived — he was inexplicably tied
up by gunman Salvador Tapia.

7 Dead In Chicago Rampage

Alleged Gunman Among Dead In Shootout At Auto Parts
Warehouse

CBS News

Chicago, Aug. 27, 2003

Seven people were reported dead Wednesday after a gun
battle between police and a man described as an angry ex-employee of an
auto parts company on Chicago's South Side.

The gunman, who was among the dead, has been
identified as 36-year-old Salvador Tapia, reports CBS News
Correspondent Cynthia Bowers. Fired six months ago, Tapia showed up
at Windy City Core Supply with a semi-automatic handgun and went on a
rampage, apparently seeking revenge.

Tapia ran through a maze of engine blocks and 55-gallon
drums before being shot to death by police. He died in a gun battle he
waged with police inside and outside of the building, hiding behind a
container as he fired off rounds from his semiautomatic pistol,
authorities said.

"We saw a guy shooting at police officers outside the
building and saw people running around like crazy," said Al Martinez,
who owns a business a half-block away. "We came and saw all the cops
running, hiding behind cars."

Tapia, 36, lost his job about six months ago for
causing trouble at work and frequently showing up late or not at all,
Acting Police Superintendent Phil Cline said. He said Tapia had an
extensive arrest record.

Cline said when police arrived shortly after 8:30
a.m., they tried to get in the building but were driven back by gunfire.
He said when an assault team entered the building they had trouble
maneuvering through all the auto parts.

Tapia also tied one man's hands behind his back, but
the employee escaped unharmed, Cline said.

He said four people died at the scene. Tapia and two
others were taken to hospitals and died there.

Pamela George was cooking at the Dox Grill across the
street when a warehouse worker ran in, looking for a phone. "He said
someone was in there shooting. He was really scared, like a chicken with
its head cut off," she said.

She said police arrived and evacuated the restaurant
within five minutes. All buildings within a block of the auto parts and
supply store were evacuated.

It was the nation's deadliest workplace shooting
since July 8, when Doug Williams shot 14 co-workers, killing six, at a
Lockheed Martin aircraft parts plant in Meridian, Miss., before taking
his own life.

In the Chicago area, William D. Baker, 66, killed
four people and himself at a Navistar International engine plant in
suburban Melrose Park in February 2001.

Warehouse Became Deathtrap

There were seven crosses Thursday morning outside the
auto parts warehouse where a former employee shot and killed six other
people before getting into a gun battle with police and being killed.

One of the crosses, representing gunman Salvador
Tapia, is off by itself, 25 feet from the others, reports Bernie Tafoya
of CBS radio station WBBM-AM. The other six are surrounded by flowers.

The auto-parts warehouse, with only one entrance, was
a maze of crates and 55-gallon drums. So when Tapia walked in and
started shooting, police said he had effectively cornered all those
inside.

After fatally shooting six, including two brothers
who owned Windy City Core Supply Inc., Tapia went outside Wednesday
morning and opened fire on police.

A team of officers followed the 36-year-old back
inside, where he refused to drop his semiautomatic pistol. Hiding behind
a box, Tapia again fired at police before an officer fatally shot him,
acting Police Superintendent Phil Cline said.

Tapia was fired six months ago for causing trouble at
work and frequently showing up late or not at all, Cline said. He said
Tapia had since made threatening calls to the owners.

Four of the warehouse workers died at the scene;
Tapia and two others died at hospitals. Police believe the victims were
shot before officers arrived.

One employee in the building survived ? he was
inexplicably tied up by Tapia but escaped and called 911, police said.
As he fled, he warned another employee who was just arriving for work
not to go inside.

A third employee also escaped Tapia's rampage because
of a chain of events that included an accident on the Eisenhower
Expressway that killed two people. The company's third owner, Robert
Bruggeman, didn't arrive until it was all over.

"Thank goodness he offered to take my daughter to
school," his wife, Helen Bruggeman, told WGN-TV. "He stopped for coffee
like he always does. He was on the expressway, it was backed up, and by
the time he got there this had all taken place already."

Police said they received calls about shots fired
shortly after 8:30 a.m. The worker who escaped ran across the street to
the Dox Grill looking for a phone, where waitress Pamela George was
working.

"He said someone was in there shooting. He was really
scared, like a chicken with its head cut off," she said.

Police evacuated all buildings within a block of the
warehouse, where old auto parts were refurbished for sale to mechanics
and auto dealers.

"We saw a guy shooting at police officers outside the
building and saw people running around like crazy," said Al Martinez,
who owns a business a half-block away. "We came and saw all the cops
running, hiding behind cars."

Cline said Tapia had been arrested 12 times, dating
back to a conviction in 1989 for unlawful use of a weapon and multiple
domestic battery and aggravated assault arrests.

The victims identified by the Cook County medical
examiner's office included brothers Alan Weiner, 50, of Wilmette, and
Howard Weiner, 59, of Northbrook. Daniel Weiner, 30, Howard's son, was
also killed, officials said.

Speaking for the Weiner family, Rabbi Brant Rosen
said, "They really want to say that this is a horrible tragedy for them,
and they are depending on one another for support."

The other victims were identified as Calvin Ramsey,
44, Robert Taylor, 53, and Juan Valles, 34, all of Chicago.

Taylor had been married more than 20 years with four
children and served as the deacon of his church, said his sister, Minnie
Taylor.

"He was well loved, well liked," she said. "His smile,
his kindness, he always had something kind to say."